


Do It For Them

by misslenabrooke



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: but dammit he loves these kids, but uses he/him pronouns, dewey is just. dewey, donald has self esteem issues, donald is a trans man, huey is a trans girl, louie is a trans boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23508067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misslenabrooke/pseuds/misslenabrooke
Summary: Donald has been through a lot. But there's one thing (three, technically) that inspires him to pull through.
Relationships: Dewey Duck & Donald Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck
Comments: 4
Kudos: 105





	Do It For Them

**Author's Note:**

> Quack Pack made me so emo man. I'm kinda mad at that episode for being so goofy (ha) but then proceeding to make me cry. It was good though, don't get me wrong.
> 
> And again, I'm cis, so I apologize if I do anything wrong writing trans characters! I'm definitely no expert on what it's like to be trans and I'm not about to pretend I am.
> 
> But yeah, I just wanted to write some heartfelt Uncle Donald stuff.

Donald remembered the day they hatched all too well, even eleven years later.

Dahlia, obviously, was the first to hatch. She was a curious one from the get-go. She looked at the room around her, then at her uncle, then at her little brother when he hatched. She was determined to learn about the world even at three seconds old. A true McDuck spirit.

Dewey was already just like his mother. He came out of the egg and immediately began playfully teasing his sister. Those little duckling laughs melted Donald's heart.

Louie. Oh, Louie. The fourty-eight minutes between Dewey hatching and Louie hatching were probably the longest in Donald's life. He was panicking, worrying that this duckling wasn't going to hatch. Della was gone, but he still thought of what she would say if that were the case. His sister would be heartbroken! But then, the third duckling was now out of his egg. The first thing Louie did was yawn and go to sleep, seeming annoyed at being woken up by his own hatching.

Donald knew when he saw his niece and nephews, that they would be his pride and joy.

_This is what I was meant to do. I will protect these kids with all of my strength until the day I die._

* * *

Louie was the first to come out. He wasn't hatched a boy, but that never stopped him from being one. As soon as Louie could talk (he was the quietest sibling by far), he expressed disgust with femininity. He even got mad at being referred to as a girl.

Donald knew pretty early on. After all, Louie's experiences were nearly identical to Donald's. Except for the obvious fact that Donald & Della were both AFAB, and Louie was the only AFAB triplet. When Dollie & Dewey were starting to establish themselves as separate people, Louie did the opposite. But did he admit this to Donald? No. It was only when Louie was seven that Donald found him in the bathroom holding a pair of scissors that the 'secret' came out.

Louie was mortified to discover his uncle standing at the bathroom door. He tried to hide the scissors as well as his already cut hair, but knew it was too late.

"Lou?" Donald was heartbroken to see Louie so afraid.

"U-Unca Donald!" His eyes began to water.

The drake knelt down next to Louie, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You know you could've told me you wanted a haircut, kiddo."

Those blue, shimmery eyes widened, leaving Donald absolutely weak. "You're not mad or anything?"

"Why would I be? I did the exact same thing when I was around your age," He picked Louie up. "Now tell me why you thought I would be mad."

"Cause I know you liked my hair long. But I don't. I want my hair to be like Huey's or Dewey's."

Donald smiled. He knew where this was going, but waited until Louie decided it was the right time before saying anything. "You want boy hair?"

Louie starting sobbing loudly, choking up just a little. "I do! I want to be like them! I don't want to be some gross girl because I'm not one! I never have been!"

Donald was patting his back gently. "Don't you worry about a thing. In this houseboat, under Unca Donald's rules, you'll never have to be anything you're not. And I will never take you anywhere where you have to pretend. It's what I always wanted my parents to do for me as a kid. They're great people, but they didn't always get it. But _I_ do, and you know there's nothing in this world that could stop me from loving you kids."

"What do you mean you get it?" The boy asked, now looking back at his uncle.

"I was the exact same way at your age, silly," He chuckled as he wiped away Louie's tears, hoping to lighten the mood. "I actually had a feeling this would happen one day, but I wanted you to be ready first. You never have to do anything before you're ready."

Louie smiled. "You always know what to say, Unca Donald."

"Us old timers know a thing or two." Donald joked.

"You sure do."

* * *

Dewey always seemed to be the most childish of the triplets, which he really was. But the way he acted on a daily basis, an outsider wouldn't think he had any issues except for wanting, needing, and demanding attention.

Donald was not an outsider, though. He knew that after Scrooge admitted everything about Della back on the Sunchaser, Dewey hadn't been the same. None of the kids were. But Dewey's change was the most drastic and obvious. Donald's worries were far from eased when the middle child woke him up in the middle of the night crying.

"Uncle Donald.. I can't sleep." It came out as a whisper, as if Dewey didn't want to be his usual hyper self now. He woke up in the middle of the night fairly often, but it was rare that he woke up Donald (who had grown used to Dewey messing around at night).

Donald patted the empty space next to him on the bed. "You know the drill."

As Dewey laid next to him, Donald held his hand between both of his own.

"Do you need to talk about it? Or do you just need me here?"

The duckling took a minute to respond, gathering up the ability to speak through the tears. "Promise me you won't leave us. Please. I can't lose you." It sounded so weak and defeated, a tone that was very uncharacteristic of this normally confident child.

"I'm not going anywhere. Della and I lost our mother when we were just a bit older than you. I don't want you to experience it all over again," Donald sighed. "And unless Scrooge admits that he's just at fault as Della is for her disappearance, there is _no way_ I'm letting him get to you kids. If this goes on much longer, I might just go back to not having an uncle."

Scrooge raised Donald & Della when their parents had passed on, so he couldn't be more thankful for that, but Donald was absolutely pissed at his uncle. Why was Donald the only one that stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, Della wouldn't make it this time? Or that there were three children that couldn't risk losing a parent? All Scrooge seemed to care about was himself, and his money. And now that the kids knew everything, Donald stopped holding back his grudge against Scrooge.

"I thought our family was complete again," Dewey wiped his eyes with Donald's sleeve. "Everything looked so happy. We were all happy. This was my only chance of getting closer to knowing about Mom, and it ended like this."

The older mallard began patting his back. "I lost her too, Dewey. I lost my best friend, my sister, the better part of myself. When you're born with someone, you never quite get used to being apart."

Dewey looked him in the eyes, features softening. "Could you... tell me some things about Mom?"

Donald was tearing up now too, but gave a comforting smile.

"Your mother, she was someone you could never hope to forget even if you met her just once. She was kind, but also very aggressive when the time called for it. You didn't want to be on her bad side. The quickest way there was to mess with her family. She was calculated and clever, and it seemed like she always had the answers when Uncle Scrooge and I didn't. When I see Dollie in her Woodchuck uniform, I can almost swear I'm looking right at Della again. Being a Woodchuck meant so much to her. But the thing I think about the most these days.. is how much like you she was. You have her laugh, her smile, her eyes, and the same desire to blindly take on the unknown with pep in your step."

"And you have no idea how much she loved you and your siblings before you even hatched. I saw her get on the Spear, she was crying at the thought of being away from you three even for a moment. But she gave you three everything she could when she was there. If your mother could see you today, she would be so proud. Trust me, she would go around telling everyone that she has the best kids ever." Donald added that last part with a chuckle. Memories of being with Della were often very comforting. She might've been gone, but he felt lucky enough to have known her, especially being her younger twin.

Dewey's eyes were lit up like a Christmas tree as he learned more about his mother. "She sounds just as amazing as I knew she was."

Donald was now crying tears of joy as he reminisced about the enigma that was Della Duck. "She's even better than that."

* * *

A couple of years ago, Violet graduated to Senior Woodchuck. Dollie humbly gave her the opportunity, realizing that Violet was way more ready than her. But that was okay! And it didn't make her any less excited for today.

"Introducing our troop's newest Senior Woodchuck, Miss Dahlia Christine Duck!" Launchpad's voice rang out through the room, immediately triggering the applause.

"THAT'S MY DAUGHTER! YOU GO, SWEETIE!" Della yelled out.

Dollie's entire family was there cheering. Dewey & Louie, Webby, Scrooge, Launchpad (obviously), and even Beakley were verbally showing their support with Della. Violet & Lena were standing nearby, choosing to clap instead. But there was one person whose silence caught her attention.

Donald was just sitting there holding a tissue, wiping at his eyes. Something about the way he was smiling never failed to comfort his niece. Dollie knew that look. It was pride. Not out of selfishness, but out of love for her. It was the same smile he had shown the triplets many times before, during all their greatest accomplishments.

She ran over to Donald and gave him a big hug. "You don't have to cry, Uncle Donald!"

He laughed. "I know. I just couldn't be bothered to stop it this time."

"You never do that!"

"Exactly," Donald pat her back. "You mind if we go outside and talk for a bit?"

Dollie shrugged slightly. "Sure? What about, exactly?"

The mallard grabbed her hand and walked her out the door.

"Is everything okay, Uncle Donald?"

He nodded. "Everything's perfect, sweetie. I just... I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am. You've always been one smart cookie, definitely much smarter than I was as a kid. Every day you work so hard, and I notice that it constantly gets you in your head. I get it, Dahlia. I really do. But if you saw what the rest of us see in you, you would never go a day without feeling happy with yourself. You've gotten so much stronger over the years, even after the shadow war, the Moonvasion, and taking down F.O.W.L. That is far from an easy feat, especially for a teenager with anxiety. But darn it, nothing stops you. I know I say it a lot, but seeing you as a Woodchuck makes me think of your mother. Seriously, you even look just like her with that uniform and your hair down."

Dollie chuckled. "I guess Louie and Dewey are right, you really are cheesy. But you taught me how to be strong. I wouldn't be a Senior Woodchuck today without you."

"You still would be, kiddo! You were destined for greatness the instant you hatched."

The girl beamed. "You at least sped up the process. I'm a bit surprised that you didn't last as a Woodchuck."

Donald scoffed. "You've seen me outdoors, you can't be that surprised."

"That's fair." She leaned in to give her uncle a hug, but at that moment the rest of the family came out of the door. Dollie was quickly cut off by Della, who picked her up and spun her around.

"Congrats, Senior Woodchuck! I always knew I'd have a daughter who'd advance through the ranks just like her old lady." Della seemed more excited than Dollie herself was.

"Come on, Del. You know you still look thirty." Donald said.

She didn't look back at him, but continued to look at her daughter with stars in her eyes. "Today's not about us being old, Donald! It's about the fact I have the best daughter ever!"

All Donald could do then was smile as he watched the scene before him. It brought him back to Della becoming a Senior Woodchuck at thirteen, and how proud Scrooge was of her. And Donald thought his niece was absolutely perfect. She was a beautiful, intelligent young lady just like many women before her in the McDuck clan. It was the times like this that he thought about something.

That he wouldn't trade his family for the world. His family _was_ the world to him.


End file.
